92 



Common Trees 



ASH-LEAVED MAPLE 



Acer Negundo, Linnaeus 



THE Ash-lcaved Maple, also called Box Elder and Water 

 Ash, is the only Ohio maple with compound leaves. 

 All other maples have simple leaves. 



The leaves are opposite, compound, with 3 to 5 leaflets. 

 Leaflets are 2 to 4 inches long, coarsely toothed. The leaf- 

 scars completely 

 encircle the twigs. 



The flowers are 

 yellowish-g r e c n 

 suspended on slen- 

 der stalks in small 

 open clusters. The 

 pollen-bearing and 

 the seed-producing 

 occur on diflferent 

 trees. 



The fruit is a 

 typical two- 

 winged maple key, 

 which matures 

 about September, 

 occurs in drooping 

 clusters, often per- 

 sists far into win- 

 ter. The wings 

 are 1 ^ to 2 

 inches long, and usually incurved. 



The bark on branches and young trunks is smooth and 

 grayish-brown; on older trunks becomes dark and breaks 

 up into shallow furrows. The twigs are stout, greenish to 

 purplish green, smooth, often covered with a whitish crusty 

 coating. The buds are rather large, egg-shaped, short- 

 stalked, white- woolly, grouped at nodes in clusters of 2 to 3. 

 The outer pair of bud-scales completely covers the inner 

 pair. 



The wood is light, soft, close-grained, creamy white, 

 not durable. It is used in the manufacture of pulp, wooden- 

 ware, barrels and cheap furniture. 



The natural range of Ash-leaved Maple is equalled by 

 few American trees. It covers almost three million square 

 miles from New England to Alberta, south to Florida, 

 Texas and Mexico. It occurs throughout Ohio but is not 

 common in the southwestern quarter of the State. In many 

 places it has escaped cultivation. Wet to moist sites along 

 streams and borders of lakes and ponds arc its favorite home. 



ASH-LEAVED MAPLE 



Leaf, one-third natural size. Twig and fruit, 

 two-thirds natural size. 



